Ball valve

ABSTRACT

A plastic ball valve has a layer of metal film coated on the ball by electroplating. This can prevent ball from contacting a pipe. Further, microorganisms can not grow at the junction of ball and pipe. Furthermore, in a case that the pipe is sleeved on another pipe by applying an adhesive. There is no need to worry that adhesive may adhere on ball and pipe because even adhesive adhered on ball can be easily peeled off during operation. This ensures a smooth regulation of the flow of fluid in the pipe.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to valves and more particularly to a ball valve with improved characteristics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A conventional ball valve A is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The ball valve A comprises a ball A1 and a stem A2 extended vertically from ball A1 both formed of plastic material. Further, both ball A1 and stem A2 are integrally formed or separately manufactured connectable components. Finally, ball valve A is mounted in a pipe B. By configuring as this, ball valve A is used to regulate or shut off the flow of fluid in the pipe B.

[0003] However, the prior art suffered from several disadvantages. For example, ball A1 and pipe B tend to closely connect together, resulting in an unsmooth operation of ball A1 when rotating stem A2. This is because both ball A1 and pipe B are formed of plastic material as well as no interface component is provided there between. Further, microorganisms may grow at the junction of ball A1 and pipe B. This is unhealthy if the fluid is tap water. Referring to FIG. 1C, there is shown pipe B sleeved on another pipe C. in general, an adhesive D is applied on the cylindrical interface between pipes B and C. But adhesive D may incidentally process. Such adhered ball A1 and pipe C will make a regulation of the flow of fluid in the pipe C impossible.

[0004] Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved ball valve in order to overcome the above drawbacks of prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball valve comprising a ball, a stem extended vertically from the ball both formed of plastic material, and a layer of metal film coated on the ball by electroplating. With the coated metal film, it is possible of preventing ball from contacting a pipe. Further, microorganisms can not grow at the junction of ball and pipe. Furthermore, in a case that the pipe is sleeved on another pipe by applying an adhesive. There is no need to worry that adhesive may adhere on ball and pipe because even adhesive adhered on ball can be easily peeled off during operation. This ensures a smooth regulation of the flow of fluid in the pipe.

[0006] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1A shows a side view in part section of a conventional ball valve mounted on a pipe;

[0008]FIG. 1B shows another side view in part section of the FIG. 1A ball valve and pipe;

[0009]FIG. 1C shows cross-sectional view showing pipe of FIG. 1A adhered around another pipe by applying adhesive;

[0010]FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of the FIG. 1A ball valve;

[0011]FIG. 2B shows a perspective view of the FIG. 2A ball valve in which the ball has been coated with a layer of metal film according to the invention;

[0012]FIG. 3 shows a side view in part section of FIG. 2B ball valve mounted on a pipe; and

[0013]FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view showing pipe of FIG. 3 adhered around another pipe by applying adhesive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0014] Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a conventional ball valve 1 to be employed by the invention. The ball valve A comprises a ball 12 and a stem 11 extended vertically from ball 12 both formed of plastic material. Further, both ball 12 and stem 11 are integrally formed or separately manufactured connectable components.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown the FIG. 2A ball valve 1 in which ball 12 has been coated with a layer of metal film 13 by electroplating according to the invention. The metal film 13 has a higher heat resistance.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 3, the ball valve 1 has been mounted on a pipe 2. With the coated metal film 13, it is possible of preventing ball 12 from contacting pipe 2. This can ensure a smooth regulation of the flow of fluid in the pipe 2 when rotating stem 11. Further, microorganisms can not grow at the junction of ball 12 and pipe 2. This is good design if the fluid is tap water.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown pipe 2 sleeved on another pipe 3. In general, an adhesive 4 is applied on the cylindrical interface between pipes 2 and 3. But adhesive 4 may incidentally flow inside pipe 3 to adhere on ball 12 during the installation process. With the provision of metal film 13, there is no adverse influence on ball valve 1 since the adhesive 4 adhered on ball 12 can be easily peeled off during operation. This can maintain a smooth regulation of the flow of fluid in the pipe 3.

[0018] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A ball valve comprising a ball, a stem extended vertically from the ball both formed of plastic material, and a layer of metal film coated on the ball.
 2. The ball valve of claim 1, wherein the layer of metal film is coated on the ball by electroplating. 